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Does the poor quality of Australian health education documentation undermine the message? A review of documents informing pregnant women about alcohol

journal contribution
posted on 2015-01-01, 00:00 authored by F Crawford-Williams, A Fielder, Antonina Mikocka-WalusAntonina Mikocka-Walus, A Esterman
Background. The advice given to pregnant women about alcohol consumption during pregnancy is variable across countries and within countries.Aim. The aim of this study was to review the content and design of existing Australian health education documentation regarding alcohol consumption in pregnancy that is available to pregnant women. Methods. A documentary analysis was conducted. This involved the identification and collection of a range of health education documents, which were then systematically analysed. The thematic and symbolic elements of each document were compared and contrasted using a modified version of the DISCERN instrument. Findings. A total of 32 documents were retrieved via general and targeted internet searching. Documents varied considerably in their purpose, language levels, accessibility, and quality. The majority of documents scored as low to moderate quality. Implications. Although there are many and varied existing documents relating to alcohol consumption during pregnancy in Australia, these are not of high quality and could be substantially improved by including publication dates, using simple language, and providing sources of information. This may result in a more effective public health message and so help to reduce the number of pregnant women who continue to drink during pregnancy.

History

Journal

Evidence based midwifery

Volume

13

Pagination

40-46

Location

London, Eng.

ISSN

1479-4489

Language

eng

Publication classification

C Journal article, C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2015, Royal College of Midwives (RCM)

Issue

2

Publisher

Royal College of Midwives (RCM)